Uruguay Industry October 2016

Uruguay: Industrial production falls in October

December 13, 2016

In October, industrial production in Uruguay dropped 3.0% from the same month last year, which contrasted the revised 6.0% expansion recorded in September (previously reported: +5.8% year-on-year) and marked the worst result in three months. October’s fall reflected declines in the output of paper products, automotive vehicles and medical instruments. Conversely, the production of oil and oil-based products rose.

Excluding the contribution of the La Teja refinery—the country’s only oil refinery and a key contributor to overall production—industrial output dropped 5.9% annually, which was a sharp deterioration compared to September’s 0.4% growth. The trend consequently pointed downward, with annual average variation in industrial output decreasing from minus 0.4% in September to minus 0.6% in October.

Panelists surveyed for this month’s LatinFocus report expect industrial production to increase 1.2% in 2016, which is down 0.6 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2017, the panel sees industrial output growth at 3.5%, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast.

In May, industrial production plummeted 16.0% from the same month of the previous year, virtually matching the sharp 16.1% contraction recorded in April, which marked the worst result since February 2010.